Before the match had started, Deportivo were given good news, Messi might not be available to play, as his girlfriend was about to give birth to his son, however when the line-ups were announced, any hope of Messi not playing had gone out the window.
However football is a crazy thing, and every once in a while we see a match that makes us jump out of our seats in joy, and makes us sit back down in a matter of seconds. Who would've thought that Jose Luis Oltra's team would have the almighty Barcelona asking for the time? If someone had said to me before the game that Depor would score four goals, I would've probably laughed it off.
The game started off just as I thought, Depor were 3-0 down in the first 20 minutes. Then it began, two goals by Deportivo - a dubious penalty over Riki, a goal by Deportivo's Alex Bergantinos and a goal by Messi made it 2-4 before half time.
In the second half Barcelona were down to 10 men as Mascherano was sent off. Pizzi scored a superb free-kick to make it 3-4, followed by a classic Messi goal. Jordi Alba, who funnily enough scored the first goal of the match also scored the last one, an own goal, to make it 4-5 with 10 minutes left to go, there was emotion in Riazor right till the end, but in the end a comeback wasn't to be.
It is true luck was on Depor's side - the Referee Paradas Romero also had a bit to do with Depor's luck, but even so it was a match that gave the little teams hope, the last team to score 4 goals against Barcelona was Real Madrid back in 2008.
Deportivo are no stranger to being the little team that no one has any hope for, no one thought they could do anything against AC Milan back in 2004 - They had lost 4-1 at San Siro, and everyone thought it was over, but then in Riazor thanks to goals from Walter Pandiani, Valeron, Luque and Fran sent the reigning champions home. This modest team from Northwest Spain has also won away against the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
Even though these days are long gone, the memory of everything Deportivo La Coruna has achieved over the years always remains.
Source: DSG
